Tuesday, August 30, 2011

People of the World: Drop the Charges Against the Anonymous 16!


Dear People of the World,

You may know that some of our brothers and sisters have been kidnapped by the judicial system by the FBI in an ongoing effort to repress anti-censorship movements. Some governments and media outlets have gone as far as calling us 'cyber terrorists' for our efforts to expose corruption. It is clear that these activists are neither criminals nor terrorists, but simply care about transparency and democracy, and unfortunately this has made them the target of overreaching law enforcement efforts.

The Anonymous 16 were arrested for allegedly taking action against PayPal as part of Operation Payback. When PayPal and others refused to allow financial contributions to WikiLeaks, we realized it as an attack on the free flow of information. Wikileaks is an organization that reveals how corrupt corporations and governments are abusing your money, your information. In fact, one of the documents released exposes how the U.S. government is systematically working to undermine and disrupt WikiLeaks through counter-intelligence operations. PayPal played a role in the government's attempt to subvert democracy by preventing others from voluntarily supporting WikiLeaks.

Considering the circumstances of this case it is clear to see that the prosecutors are greatly overreaching in their attempts to imprison these peaceful digital activists. Any sane and rational person can agree that the punishment for the alleged crimes doesn't fit the facts of the case. The alleged actions do not support either conspiracy, unauthorized access, or damage to a protected computer. Instead, they are the digital equivalent of a peaceful protest and sit-in, which is a respected tradition of civil disobedience. As such, 15 years in prison and a $500,000 fine is unwarranted and amounts to political persecution.

We are working to build a support network to stand with all accused Anonymous defendants under the gun of the State. The FBI is engaged in selective, politically dicatated prosecution. While the FBI won't pursue an investigation into the DDoS of WikiLeaks (as this was likely done with their support and financial backing), they believe they can make an example out of our brothers and sisters instead. Now is the time to set aside our differences and unite in support of these heroic activists against these trumped up charges. Join us in a solidarity protest in support of our friends.

LOIC/DDOS IS NOT A CRIME! JUSTICE FOR THE ANONYMOUS 16!

We are Anonymous
We are Legion. pm
We do not forgive.
We do not forget.
Expect us.

2 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. DDoS clearly is a crime under the law, but so is an unauthorized march, stand-in, or other kind of passively disruptive demonstration.

    It has been known for a long time that the Internet would test the strengths and weaknesses of our laws.

    If we cannot gain the understanding of the general public that a DDoS is the electronic cousin of a "meat world" protest, then as the Internet becomes a more relevant medium for mass communication, dissidence will by default become less relevant.

    You can see this happening in the past with the evolution of other mass communication media. As the media have become more consolidated and controlled by fewer parties, the voice of the people becomes fainter.

    Excepting the Internet, which spawned Anonymous.

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